Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) (5-HT) receptors play a critical role in many physiological and behavioral functions in humans and animals. These functions are mediated through various 5-HT receptors distributed throughout the body. There are now approximately fifteen different human 5-HT receptor subtypes that have been cloned, many with well-defined roles in humans. One of the most recently identified 5-HT receptor subtypes is the 5-HT6 receptor, first cloned from rat tissue in 1993 (Monsma, F. J.; Shen, Y.; Ward, R. P.; Hamblin, M. W. Molecular Pharmacology 1993, 43, 320-327) and subsequently from human tissue (Kohen, R.; Metcalf, M. A.; Khan, N.; Druck, T.; Huebner, K.; Sibley, D. R. Journal of Neurochemistry 1996, 66, 47-56). The receptor is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) positively coupled to adenylate cyclase (Ruat, M.; Traiffort, E.; Arrang, J-M.; Tardivel-Lacombe, L.; Diaz, L.; Leurs, R.; Schwartz, J-C. Biochemical Biophysical Research Communications 1993, 193, 268-276). The receptor is found almost exclusively in the central nervous system (CNS) areas both in rat and in human. In situ hybridization studies of the 5-HT6 receptor in rat brain using mRNA indicate principal localization in the areas of 5-HT projection including striatum, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, and hippocampal formation (Ward, R. P.; Hamblin, M. W.; Lachowicz, J. E.; Hoffman, B. J.; Sibley, D. R.; Dorsa, D. M. Neuroscience 1995, 64, 1105-1111).
There are many potential therapeutic uses for 5-HT6 ligands in humans based on direct effects and on indications from available scientific studies. These studies provided information including the localization of the receptor, the affinity of ligands with known in vivo activity, and results obtained from various animal studies conducted so far (Woolley, M. L.; Marsden, C. A.; Fone, K. C. F. Current Drug Targets: CNS & Neurological Disorders 2004, 3(1), 59-79).
One therapeutic use of modulators of 5-HT6 receptor function is in the enhancement of cognition and memory in human diseases such as Alzheimer's. The high levels of receptor found in important structures in the forebrain, including the caudate/putamen, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, and cortex indicate a role for the receptor in memory and cognition since these areas are known to play a vital role in memory (Gerard, C.; Martres, M.-P.; Lefevre, K.; Miquel, M. C.; Verge, D.; Lanfumey, R.; Doucet, E.; Hamon, M.; El Mestikawy, S. Brain Research, 1997, 746, 207-219). The ability of known 5-HT6 receptor ligands to enhance cholinergic transmission also supported the cognition use (Bentley, J. C.; Boursson, A.; Boess, F. G.; Kone, F. C.; Marsden, C. A.; Petit, N.; Sleight, A. J. British Journal of Pharmacology, 1999, 126(7), 1537-1542). Studies have demonstrated that a known 5-HT6 selective antagonist significantly increased glutamate and aspartate levels in the frontal cortex without elevating levels of noradrenaline, dopamine, or 5-HT. This selective elevation of neurochemicals known to be involved in memory and cognition indicates the role 5-HT6 ligands play in cognition (Dawson, L. A.; Nguyen, H. Q.; Li, P. British Journal of Pharmacology, 2000, 130(1), 23-26). Animal studies of memory and learning with a known selective 5-HT6 antagonist found positive effects (Rogers, D. C.; Hatcher, P. D.; Hagan, J. J. Society of Neuroscience, Abstracts 2000, 26, 680). More recent studies have supported this finding in several additional animal models of cognition and memory including in a novel object discrimination model (King, M. V.; Sleight, A. J.; Wooley, M. L.; Topham, I. A.; Marsden, C. A.; Fone, K. C. F. Neuropharmacology 2004, 47(2), 195-204 and Wooley, M. L.; Marsden, C. A.; Sleight, A. J.; Fone, K. C. F. Psychopharmacology, 2003, 170(4), 358-367) and in a water maze model (Rogers, D. C.; Hagan, J. J. Psychopharmacology, 2001, 158(2), 114-119 and Foley, A. G.; Murphy, K. J.; Hirst, W. D.; Gallagher, H. C.; Hagan, J. J.; Upton, N.; Walsh, F. S.; Regan, C. M. Neuropsychopharmacology 2004, 29(1), 93-100).
A related therapeutic use for 5-HT6 ligands is the treatment of attention deficit disorders (ADD, also known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD) in both children and adults. Because 5-HT6 antagonists enhance the activity of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway and because ADHD has been linked to abnormalities in the caudate (Ernst, M; Zametkin, A. J.; Matochik, J. H.; Jons, P. A.; Cohen, R. M. Journal of Neuroscience 1998, 18(15), 5901-5907), 5-HT6 antagonists attenuate attention deficit disorders.
Early studies examining the affinity of various CNS ligands with known therapeutic utility or a strong structural resemblance to known drugs implicates 5-HT6 ligands in the treatment of schizophrenia and depression. For example, clozapine (an effective clinical antipsychotic) has high affinity for the 5-HT6 receptor subtype. Also, several clinical antidepressants have high affinity for the receptor as well and act as antagonists at this site (Branchek, T. A.; Blackburn, T. P. Annual Reviews in Pharmacology and Toxicology 2000, 40, 319-334).
Further, recent in vivo studies in rats indicate that 5-HT6 modulators are useful in the treatment of movement disorders including epilepsy (Stean, T.; Routledge, C.; Upton, N. British Journal of Pharmacology 1999, 127 Proc. Supplement 131P and Routledge, C.; Bromidge, S. M.; Moss, S. F.; Price, G. W.; Hirst, W.; Newman, H.; Riley, G.; Gager, T.; Stean, T.; Upton, N.; Clarke, S. E.; Brown, A. M. British Journal of Pharmacology 2000, 130(7), 1606-1612).
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide compounds which are useful as therapeutic agents in the treatment of a variety of central nervous system disorders related to or affected by the 5-HT6 receptor.
It is another object of this invention to provide therapeutic methods and pharmaceutical compositions useful for the treatment of central nervous system disorders related to or affected by the 5-HT6 receptor.
It is a feature of this invention that the compounds provided may also be used to further study and elucidate the 5-HT6 receptor.